This is where I disclose that, while, yes, there are 157 reviews on here to date, there are areas of world cinema where I have blind spots. For instance, up until this film, I hadn't seen anything by Michael Haneke, up until that film. I was aware of him (films like "Cache", "Amor", "Funny Games" and "The Piano Teacher") but hadn't previously wandered into his world. And I'm not entirely sure I picked the right one to start with.
There are individual scenes here which stick out as excellent film-making - one character dancing in a karaoke bar to "Chandelier", for example, or the rather chilling ending. But there's also a lot of faff around in the middle. There isn't really any development of character, there isn't anything that could be called "plot", so much as a pileup of situations and moments, with a lot of slow dwelling on moments in a way I've got to call unenlightening. This ended up being a film that fell into the "what's all that about" category for me - it feels more like gestures towards making a film than something that's actually been shaped towards any particular result.
So, no, this wasn't for me.
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